


Collective

by duckiesandlemons



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hacker/Spy, Alternate Universe - Mecha, Drabble Collection, Genderbending, Kamen Rider - Freeform, Kamen Rider Den-O parody, Multi, Yeah you read that right, characters and pairings to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duckiesandlemons/pseuds/duckiesandlemons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles for various things that really didn't get off the ground or are getting started.  Mostly AUs.  Warnings posted each chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just One

**Author's Note:**

> Number Four verse is explained in my fic by the same title. Family Matters is an idea spawned from a really bad joke with my friend about Kiyoshi and Nijimura being Kagami's parents. The Rubik's Cube is a drabble prompted by my friend who asked for Hyuuga. And the Unhealthy Relationships AU is pretty much a mob AU where Kagami ends up housing the feared gang known as the Kiseki no Sedai in his house due to being at the wrong place at the right time and true to the title the relationships in it are...dubious.

**Number Four verse, Wakamatsu and Furihata meet and gripe**

“Ah, Wakamatsu.”

“Furihata…right?”

“Ah, right!”

He was surprised he was even remembered, what with still being on the bench a lot when they were playing major games.  He really only got to flex his muscles during practice matches and the last one they had with Touo Aomine and Kagami practically dominated the court.  By dominated, he meant they got too engrossed in one upping the other that Wakamatsu and Hyuuga collectively demanded they played one-on-one in a separate court.  Which the two did all too willingly and Furihata had been called in to take Kagami’s place for a quarter before they swapped him back out with Mitobe.

“I’m sorry about Kagami’s behavior during the practice match,” Furihata said, readjusting the grip on his bag. 

“No, it’s alright,” Wakamatsu looked about as awkward as Furihata felt, looking everywhere but at his face.  “I should have expected it, I mean, Aomine constantly skips practice, steals Sakurai’s food, doesn’t regard others—“ Ah, here it comes, the explosion of anger Wakamatsu was known for and what got Kagami and Aomine on to the separate court.  Because where Aomine was quite used to Wakamatsu’s nagging, Kagami was thoroughly cowed (of course, Hyuuga was also breathing down the power forward’s neck so there was that).

“Let me make it up to you, please?” because Wakamatsu had looked pissed through the rest of the practice game and he was a “Captain in Training.”  He remembered being told that being on good terms with the Captains and Coaches of the other teams meant they were more likely to have practice matches arranged or share camps together.  Or maybe that was his own mind making that up.

“It’s fine, no big deal, the game’s—“

“It’ll be on me!”

And that was how Furihata found himself taking Wakamatsu to MajiBurger.

(“How was your date?” Kuroko asked and Furihata choked on his water, attracting the rest of Seirin’s attention.

“What’s that about a date?”

“Furihata-kun went on a date.”

“Really!?”

Curse you, Kuroko.)

**Family Matters, Aomine gets to meet his boyfriend's family for the first time**

“My parents are interesting,” Taiga says around a mouthful of food, making Daiki blink slowly.

“Interesting how?” he hazards, quite unsure how to deal with the idea that he might have to deal with crazy ass in laws.  The fact he had twins as younger brothers already hard enough, especially when one was practically a ghost and the other had a superiority complex.

“Well, let’s see, my dad’s kind of…old fashioned and my mom is,” Taiga shudders, “my mom is…forceful.  Yeah.”  None of that seems to be good news for Daiki, especially since Taiga’s family requested that they meet the family of whoever charmed their son.

“Am I going to die?”

“Possibly.”

That’s why Daiki’s a little nervous when he’s standing at the door to Taiga’s…really fuckin huge house.  Tetsuya and Seijuurou are with him, the two looking anything but pleased to be there, but they’re family and their own father was too busy to join due to some meetings so Daiki kind of sucked it up and rolled with it.  He rings the bell and there’s the sound of someone rushing to the door.  Daiki prays to above that it’s Taiga opening the door.

“Ah, you must be Daiki and his younger brothers!” instead it’s a tall man with brown hair who looks way too happy to be natural.  Tetsuya takes an instant liking to this man, Daiki can tell by how his brother steps closer.  Seijuurou just looks disinterested still.  “Come on in, come on in, I’m Kiyoshi Teppei, Taiga’s father,” Teppei is all smiles as he lets them in.

“A-Aomine Daiki, nice to meet you sir,” and he bows before he steps inside.  “These are my brothers Aomine—“

“Tetsuya and Seijuurou,” the twins say together at once, bowing as well.

“Taiga, your boyfriend is here!” and Teppei is happily walking back towards the dining area where they can hear him converse with someone else.  The dad doesn’t seem too bad.  Confidence somewhat restored Daiki looks up to the stairs where he can hear footsteps and then Taiga is coming down.

“Hey,” the red head looks happy to see him, “you’re here early!”

“Didn’t want to make a bad impression, ya know,” he shrugs.  Taiga says hello to Tetsuya and Seijuurou, the two returning it, and then Teppei is calling them to the kitchen. 

“Uhm, mom is irritable sometimes just as a heads up,” Taiga is scratching the side of his face.  It can’t be too bad, Aomine thinks, because Teppei is perfectly hospitable.  Nice, even, and Tetsuya likes him so he can’t be that bad.  When they step in though Daiki has to pause because the woman cooking looks like she’d belong in a gang.  She may have gorgeous black hair and a nice figure but she gave off the aura of pure attitude.  No, more like “fuck with my family and you die” kind of thing.  Either way, she commands respect.

“Oi, Taiga, you did your homework right?” she’s not looking but her voice is stern.

“Yeah, oh, and Daiki’s here.”

“I know.  Your pop here was happier to meet them than you were.  Ran to the door when they came.”

“Dad—“

“It’s an exciting day, you know!”

Teppei laughs and settles back in his chair, Taiga sitting down as well.  Daiki and his brothers follow suit, that nervousness from before creeping back.  A few minutes later food is set out and the woman sits at the head of the table, arms crossed.  “Aomine Daiki, eh?” she asks, an eyebrow quirked.  “Thought Taiga would have better tastes.”

Ow.

“I’m Shuuzo,” Daiki politely stays quiet about her name, “and if you hurt my son in any way I’m going to make sure you regret ever being born.”

The sparkle in Seijuurou’s eyes meant that he took an instant liking to this woman and it really only meant one thing for Aomine.

He’s fucked.

**Hyuuga buys a Rubik's Cube--results are debateable**

Hyuuga had gotten a Rubik’s Cube.

He didn’t know what compelled him either.  He had seen it sitting in some novelty shop that he passed on his way home every day and had just decided to buy it.  There was a reason, he told himself as he moved the parts of the cube this way and that.  There _is_ a reason and it had to do with basketball, yeah.  The excuse sounded lame even to his ears, however, and in the end he accepted the fact that whatever reason he came up with would not replace the fact he bought it off impulse.  Now he was trying to figure out the stupid thing and—

“This is ridiculous who thought this was a good idea?” he was turning the Rubik’s Cube around angrily, the click of the cube a steady noise as he tried to match all colors.

“There has to be better things with one’s time—“

_Click_

“Like practicing—“

_Click_

“Maybe studying—“

_Click click click_

“Or trying to keep idiots from doing stupid things—

_Click!_

Hyuuga paused, staring at the complete Rubik’s Cube in his hands.  With a groan he let his forehead hit his desk.  It seemed Clutch Time Mode carried over off the court.

**Unhealthy Relationships AU, Kagami deals with a dog and its owner**

“Kuroko, Kise, get up, breakfast is ready,” Kagami opened the door to the guest room, already ready for school and with his bag slung over his shoulder.  Sure, it was kind of odd finally living with people, even if said people happened to be a magician and his werewolf (something Kagami was still trying to wrap his head around), but he had fallen into this easy rhythm of living with them.  He just had to ignore a lot of things like the muzzles, collars, leashes, and other knick knacks that Kuroko brought with him.  It actually made Kagami kind of thankful that he didn’t invite people over that often because he didn’t want to explain why his new flat mates had what were technically BDSM items. 

“Hey—“

“Kagamicchi, be quiet, Kurokocchi is still sleeping,” Kise’s muffled voice greeted him.  Looking closer, Kagami could see one golden eye looking up at him.

“Don’t you have work?” Kagami didn’t sound all that thrilled either.

“Not today, vacation,” Kise stretched, “I like it like this.”  Kagami noted the smile and how much more subdued Kise seemed compared to yesterday when he wouldn’t just settle down. 

Kagami wasn’t dumb, though, “Doesn’t work mean something else?”

“Akashicchi can be pretty demanding, I worry that it may be too much for Kurokocchi but we really can’t say anything.”

Kagami left it at that.  “Well, I’m heading to school, breakfast is set out so go eat it when you both get out of bed,” Kagami didn’t even bother trying to wake Kuroko up when Kise was practically wrapped around the slighter man.  The last time he tried that Kise had _snarled_ at him and bared sharp canines.  It had given Kagami a near heart attack.

“Can’t believe I let a dog into my house,” Kagami grumbled as he stepped out and locked the door.  Those two knew where the spare was so he wasn’t too worried.

Just as long as that Dog Trainer and his mutt didn’t track blood in, Kagami wasn’t going to question much.


	2. Hacker/Spy AU--I do palm readings for free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Partnered up with renowned Hacker Kuroko Tetsuya, Kagami Taiga of the Seirin organization tries to track down a famous "villain" in a rather eccentric neighborhood while trying to pass off as a reporter. Everyone is psycho, there is no normal person, and the apartments they live in are shitty. He just wants to get this job done.

“I do palm readings for free.”

“Excuse me—“

“Let me see your hand.”

“What are you even doing—“

“There…you…go…”

And one Midorima Shintarou ended up having the phone number plus name of one Kagami Taiga written on his palm, his eyebrow twitching as he stared at the black ink and messily written kanji.  He was going to have to wash this off later if he even wanted to touch his precious tarot deck, and the fact that Kagami had also mocked Midorima while he was writing superfluous information on the fortune teller’s palm was irritating.

“Call me if you see anything suspicious,” and Kagami was off.

 

“Leo’s rank the lowest in luck today,” was all Midorima muttered as he walked back into his shop. 

***

Kagami didn’t stay long at the mechanic’s, the kid there skittish and apologizing every two seconds it seemed.  He almost reminded Kagami of Furihata except a lot more…mousy?  He couldn’t place his finger on it.  Either way he told his usual spiel about being a reporter for some famous magazine that investigated the odd and the strange or whatever and told him to contact Kagami if he saw something strange.

 

Also, Kagami kind of wanted to leave when that smiling guy with the glasses came in.  Gave him the creeps, ugh.

***

“Can I uh…talk to the owner…of this establishment?” Kagami was looking anywhere but the elegantly dressed girl with the all too nice makeup and who was making these bedroom eyes at him and giggling.

“Of course, hold on!” and she was scampering off, shouting out for “Reo-nee~!” while giggling _still_.  Kagami just wanted to sort of bolt on out of there considering he was in a brothel (a well-disguised one at that) and that was just all sorts of awkward. 

“Yes, did you need something sweetie?”

“A rather handsome man is waiting at the door for you!”

“Oh, my, that _is_  exciting!”

The undercover spy straightened immediately when the girl returned followed by a rather elegant woman…man…hell, he couldn’t tell either way this had to be “Reo-nee” and the Madam…or Sir or…argh whatever he was too flustered to think and he wanted to get out right away.  “Oh, he is handsome,” Reo walked around Kagami, taking in his looks, and Kagami shifted.

“I-I’m here on business to cover stories—“

“You’re doing a story on odd things in the neighborhood, correct?” Reo grinned.  “Takao-kun from the fortune teller’s told me!”  A hand was held out and Kagami obligingly pulled out the business card with his contact information and placed it in Reo’s hand.

“T-thank you for your business…uhm…ma’am,” and he bolted out of the brothel, laughter behind him.

“Not my type but he was a stud.”

“I know!”

 

Kagami wanted to strangle his boss for making him take this job.

***

“So you just play shogi all day?”

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“Mmm, sometimes I play basketball when I have enough time.”

Kagami wanted to say that if Akashi Seijurou had enough time to play shogi then he damn well had enough time to play basketball because, really, who didn’t have time for that.  But he dutifully bit his tongue and waited for Akashi to finish his next move before speaking again.  “In that case you probably don’t get out much, huh?” he asked.  Another click as the next piece was placed on the board.

“I wouldn’t say that, Kagami Taiga,” Akashi looked thoughtful, and then another click was heard.

“So you do get out?”

“Yes.”

Pause, click, and Kagami pulled out another business card.

“Then let me hand you my—“

“That is not necessary,” Akashi finally looked up from the board, giving Kagami an eerie smile.  “I know all I need to know about you.  I will contact you if I see something odd…although if anyone tried to do that on my watch well…”

 

Kagami bolted out of Akashi’s home as fast as he could—he would take the brothel over that chilling atmosphere any day.

***

“Hand this to Kuroko when ya see him please!”

Ogiwara was a lot more amicable than anyone else and the library café he ran was peaceful.  Something that sort of eased the previous encounters Kagami had.  He ordered a cup of coffee to go, taking the bundle Ogiwara had given him, and gave a nod of his head.

“Thanks, and you got my info right?”

Ogiwara held up the card, “Call if I see anything odd, you got it!”

Thank goodness Kuroko had at least one normal friend outside of Nigou and himself.

***

 

Kagami didn’t stay long in the produce store.  Being threatened with being run over or have fruit thrown at his head was horrifying and he thought that sort of behavior was only used on Midorima.

The bakery was probably worse, what with how tall the owner was and Kagami trying to muster the patience to deal with his laid back attitude.  “Ah, you talked with Mido-chin already right?” Murasakibara hummed as he put the finishing touches on a cake he was working on when he came in.  “And Kise-chin too?”

“Kise?”

“Yeah, he lives in the apartment you guys are in.”

Murasakibara politely leaves out “with the rest of us” because these guys were successful but seemed to be cheapskates.  Or maybe it was just Murasakibara, that Takao guy, and a couple others—still didn’t change the fact they were crappy but that wasn’t the point.  “Well, I haven’t talked with this Kise guy so—“ Kagami was cut off.

“Then go talk with him.  He gets around more than me anyways.”

 

Kagami left with a whole cake.  He was still trying to figure out how he managed that, but now he had to find Kise.

***

“Kagami-kun, I made a friend today.”

“You don’t sound thrilled.”

They had cut into the cake Murasakibara gave him, a piece sitting next to Kuroko on the makeshift desk and relatively untouched as the hacker continued the current job Kagami’s boss had given him.  He looked a lot more sleep deprived than usual and Kagami made a mental note to force him to sleep tonight.

“It wasn’t exactly a nice meeting…I guess,” Kuroko paused.  “I was taking out the trash when he came out of another apartment.  He was blonde…overbearing.  But he acted like he knew me.”

“…that’s not a friend that’s a weirdo.”

“I invited him for tea.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“He gave me a free pass to the Charmed Apple.”

“That’s a brothel.”

“And another one to Lucky Fortune.”

“The guy running that booth is a prick.”

“And a coupon for one free vanilla shake at Maji Burger.”

Ah, there’s how the guy got Kuroko.  “So, what was his name, you got his name right?” Kagami grunted as he forced the window open.  It made a squeaking noise and he cringed.

“Kise Ryouta,” and Kuroko went right back to typing.

Well, now Kagami was going to have to go on a man hunt later. 


	3. Kamen Rider Den-O Parody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets parodying Kamen Rider Den-O, information on that here: http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_Den-O
> 
> Basically I wanted KnB characters in suits and Kuroko getting his body possessed although that doesn't appear here whoops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't want to read the wiki, just know that there's transforming and Imagin are the monsters of that world. Kuroko has four (like the MC in Den-O) and they are: Akashi, Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara (all appear in order that their colored Imagin appear in Den-O; red, blue, yellow, purple). Also there is a train that goes through time that they ride in when chasing Imagin who have flown to the past after granting the wish of their pact maker. And spandex suits but that's par for the course of Kamen Rider.

“Tetsuya, you’ve been weak the past couple of days,” the red Imagin sitting across from him simply held out his cup for Momoi to refill, the happy attendant gleefully doing so.  Tetsuya thinks the only reason she willingly does this is because she finds the Imagin interesting, much different from the ones that Tetsuya has started fighting to help bring back a ruined future.  If Momoi didn’t like this red Imagin, Seijuurou as Tetsuya has named him, then he is sure she would have done nothing.

“Isn’t it normal?” he asks, politely taking the cup of coffee Momoi happily gave him before placing it in front of him.

“Weaker than normal,” and Seijuurou takes a long sip from his cup.  Tetsuya thinks that Imagin taste buds have to be different from a human’s, because even though Momoi is a wonderful woman (she’s gone back behind her station, happily humming to herself and watching them with unabashed curiosity) her coffee leaves much to be desired.

“I apologize, but whose fault do you think that is?”

“I was merely showing them who they needed to fear.”

“People think I’m possessed.”

One of Seijuurou’s eyes brightens, gold glistening under the artificial light, and the dragon Imagin places his cup down, “Oh, but isn’t that the case?  Speaking of, Tetsuya, what is your wish?  We still have not settled that out at all.”

Tetsuya clasps his hands on the table, “I am still thinking on it.”  Seijuurou snarls at this, one of the few emotions he lets past his collected demeanor, and leans back in the booth to continue drinking from his cup.  DenLiner’s whistle goes off and the train comes to a stop.

“Bye, Tetsu-kun!” Momoi waves from behind the counter.  “I can’t wait to see you again!”

“Goodbye Momoi-san, Seijuurou-kun,” and Tetsuya gets up to leave, stepping off of DenLiner and walking into the café that he helped run with Taiga.

“ _Remember, Tetsuya, one day I will make that contract with you_ ,” Seijuurou speaks into his mind and Tetsuya bites off a laugh.

“There you are!” Taiga calls out, finishing up making another latte for one of the girls brave enough to approach the bar.  “I’ve been calling your phone all day, you took way too long!  Put on your apron and get to serving!”

“Yes, yes.  Taiga-kun, you’re always so impatient,” he says but he walks to where his apron is on the peg next to the entrance to the kitchen and puts it on.

***

Kuroko Tetsuya is about twenty years old, fresh out of high school, and he would have gone on to college if he hadn’t been roped into helping his friend run a small library café on the intersecting corner of two small streets in a quiet residential area.  Initially, Tetsuya hadn’t even planned to stay helping that long since there was one other who helped as well and around nineteen he had planned to start college courses.  He was living in the flat up top, so he could afford a bit more for University, but that did not seem to be the case.  To put it simply, because he is never one to beat around the bush, he, Kuroko Tetsuya, is helping his best friend, Kagami Taiga, run a library café.

“Good morning,” he yawns, stepping down the stairs and to the café.  Taiga is already up, preparing that morning’s blends, humming to himself as he ground coffee beans.

“Mornin’, Tetsuya,” Taiga greets back.  “Did you fix that bed head of yours?”  A pass in front of the mirror tells him that, no, he didn’t, and from Taiga’s exasperated sigh and laugh he’s noticed it too.  “Your hair defies the laws of physics, come here,” and then he’s fixing up Tetsuya’s hair.

“You always fix it up for me,” he replies back and when Taiga finishes he makes his way to the door.

“Do it yourself,” Taiga shouts back.  “The list is in your bag.”

“Understood.”

He grabs that before he leaves, exiting the café and going to unlock his bike.  It’s a ritual nowadays, wake up, do whatever errands needed to be run, and then come back to help Taiga with the rush of customers.  On days they were closed, the two would go out on the street courts.  There had been a third to their routine, however—

“I shouldn’t get distracted,” he reminds himself, getting on his bike and heading towards the book store where they usually pick up new books.

“ _Tetsuya, there’s an Imagin nearby._ ”

“…it’s rather early.”

There’s also a new addition to his routine, one that causes Taiga more worry than he’d like, but Tetsuya sucks it all up and answers to the call.  “Where is it?” he asks.

“ _Fairly near.  Let’s lure it to an abandoned area._ ”

“How?”

“ _Like this._ ”

There is a shriek, a monster flying overhead, and Kuroko feels a pull on his body before he’s pushed to the back of his mind and Seijuurou’s controlling him.  “Let’s see if I can get another victory,” Seijuurou’s voice is filled with surety and another Imagin appearing must have coaxed the other down.  The bird based monster lands in front of them, screeching and spreading its wings.  “Not here,” Seijuurou toys with it, snapping his fingers.  DenLiner whistles in the background, appearing from its hole in time and releasing their motorbike.

Fighting Imagins is a new routine, something that happened not too long ago, and Kuroko finds himself not minding it all.  Seijuurou’s really one of the few people he can call “friend” and it’s nice having him near him almost constantly.

***

“I’d like you to try and repeat that, _Daiki._ ”

“Come on, you dragon shrimp, I can take you on anytime!”

“Ehhh, but Dai-chin can’t move at all.”

“Daicchi, you should think about what situation you’re in before you do anything!”

“Dai-chan you can do it!”

And by “do it” Momoi meant the monumental task of getting Seijuurou’s foot off of his chest.  For being the smallest Imagin, the dragon packed a huge amount of power.  It would make sense, considering that Seijuurou was Tetsuya’s first Imagin and the main body of Den-O’s Climax form.  Daiki had pushed Seijuurou too far, even if they had a rich history of bickering considering that Daiki came in as Tetsuya’s second Imagin.  Their fights had been notorious in the past, yes, but it had never gotten to the point where Seijuurou snapped like he did.

Or the fact that Daiki felt as mad as he did.

Seijuurou applied more force, his foot pressing down on Daiki’s chest and the blue Imagin gasped, trying to free himself.  There was a clamor of noise, of Ryouta trying to goad Atsushi into action and stop them, of Momoi actually looking worried, and dammit this was embarrassing—

“What’s going on?”

“Tetsuya, stay out of this, I’m finally teaching this blue nuisance a lesson,” Seijuurou was staring down with cold eyes and Daiki felt his life draining away from the stare.

“I can always kick you out, not use you,” the seemed to cow Seijuurou because the moment Tetsu had said that Seijuurou was at his side.  It was only Tetsu and Conductor Shuuzou who could really get the red Imagin to behave like that.

“Apologies,” Seijuurou bowed his head, looking like he was the victim, and Daiki snorted.

“Two faced Imagin…”

He pointedly ignored the red and gold gaze directed at him.


	4. Mecha AU: Guilt Complexes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for a mecha AU I'm working on with a friend. Kuroko is an Android, Ogiwara is the only one who can fix him.

“It’s been a while huh?”

“It has.”

“Like what…bout…uhm…”

“Six years.”

“Yeah, six years!  Man, it’s been that long?  Geeze, you haven’t changed a bit.”

Kuroko leaned forward some, giving Ogiwara better access to his neck and shoulder blades so the mechanic could do his job.  “I am an android, Ogiwara-kun,” Kuroko answered.  There was no malice in his voice, just a teasing tone that made Ogiwara laugh as he brought up a tiny pair of scissors, carefully snipping away the synthetic skin at the base of Kuroko’s neck.  They were quiet for a few minutes, letting Ogiwara concentrate so he wouldn’t mess up and accidentally cut something important and adding more to the long list of repairs Kuroko needed.  There was a soft ‘clunk’ as Ogiwara placed the scissors down, smoothing the flap of skin he had cut back.  “Although those six years were probably my fault,” Kuroko closed his eyes.  “I apologize.”

“Don’t,” Ogiwara was careful as he removed the exposed panel to gain access to the deeper circuitry.  “If you have to apologize about anything, apologize about not calling for maintenance.  Or pushing your Captain to call me—nothing’s your fault Kuroko.”

“You’re too kind,” much different from the kid who would peer over his grandfather’s shoulder and watch as the old man repaired Kuroko on Nijimura’s request.  Much different from the young boy who told Kuroko with tear filled eyes that he had failed him and then swore he’d get better at repairing androids so he wouldn’t hurt Kuroko again—Ogiwara had definitely changed from what Kuroko had remembered.  “But wasn’t it you who left first?” he added. 

Ogiwara flinched a bit, an awkward laugh making its way from his throat, “A…ahaha yeah but…I’ve had years to think about it and…I was being pretty selfish huh?”

“More than selfish I would think,” a light jab that left Ogiwara laughing again. 

“You still are pretty blunt.”

Another wave of silence as Ogiwara worked at replacing old wires and burnt out circuits, the delicate detail work once again taking all of his concentration.  Kuroko could remember a time where Ogiwara was all shaking hands, palms sweaty and breath a bit heavier due to fear of harming the android.  Now Ogiwara barely batted an eyelash at working in an android’s innards.  A vast improvement and Kuroko was proud of him.  If only Ogiwara could be proud of Kuroko, then everything would be okay.  If Ogiwara didn’t think Kuroko a coward for running away from Teikou like he did, then it would all be okay.  As it stood, telling his friend what he had done would only bring more questions that had answers the android wasn’t really willing to give yet.

As it stood Ogiwara didn’t seem to even be interested in asking on how Kuroko ended up at Seirin instead of still remaining at Teikou or following Aomine to wherever he had gone.  The kind boy just patched him up like he used to after his grandfather had passed the duty down on to him.  At some point Ogiwara had started humming, a soft and soothing tune that made Kuroko relax just a bit more.  “So why didn’t your new Captain at Teikou call for me when you had to be repaired?” Ogiwara asked, finishing up his work in that area and closing the panel up.  He smoothed the synthetic skin back over it, pulling out a special thread from his tool kit and threading a needle to prepare to sew it back together.  “If it were Nijimura he’d have called for me right away.”

Kuroko tilted forward a bit more, resting his forehead on his knees, “The new captain didn’t know.”  Which in itself was a lie because Akashi knew.  Akashi knew everything that went on under his gaze and it was only by Kuroko’s own insistence that Ogiwara wasn’t called.  Akashi had asked if Kuroko would be able to perform at optimum efficiency and Kuroko had to lie through his teeth.  If the look Akashi gave him at the time said anything he wasn’t convinced but…Ogiwara wasn’t called.  Thinking on it, back then, was Kuroko afraid?

“You messed some things up pretty bad in another part of you, I’m going to have to do a complete overhaul there,” Ogiwara muttered as he looked back at his scanner.  It had been plugged up to Kuroko prior to run a prognosis and Ogiwara had practically fainted from what he had seen. 

“So I’ll be unconscious for that?”

“For the most part, yeah,” a ‘snip’ as Ogiwara finished tying off the thread and cutting it, the skin successfully put back in place.  “Let’s talk before that.”

Was Kuroko afraid of facing Ogiwara when it was the mechanic who had walked out?  Kuroko was not harmed, if anything it looked as if more harm had come to Ogiwara for failing in one minor repair.  So why was it Kuroko who was so frightened?  “I don’t blame you,” Kuroko repeated.  “Like I said, I should—“

“I didn’t leave because I messed up repairs,” Ogiwara interrupted.  “I left because Teikou felt stifling.”  That made the android pause.

“…stifling?”

“There wasn’t any room to grow, no smiles,” Ogiwara frowned, leaning forward to rest his chin on Kuroko’s head.  “I…didn’t feel like I was having fun.”

“…we were a mercenary company.  Ogiwara-kun, we faced death almost every day.”

“I know but…with you I felt happy.  Like, despite the tough times I genuinely enjoyed myself.  Something to cling on to.”

“You dragged me everywhere.”

“But you were smiling.”

Looking back on old memory files, Kuroko realized he was happier back then.  When Ogiwara held up a basketball and asked to go play with him, when all the other Generation of Miracles joined in—it was all something Kuroko remembered fondly.  The fact Ogiwara felt the same as him made Kuroko lighten up some.  “Teikou changed a lot,” Kuroko said.  “It wasn’t what it used to stand for, it wasn’t what it was meant to be.”

“So is that why you left?”

“…yes.”

And like Aomine and like Kagami, of course Ogiwara would know Kuroko’s reasoning, his course of action.  Ogiwara didn’t even push for answers, just settled with a loose comforting hug that made Kuroko relaxed.  “We weren’t for the people anymore, we weren’t for helping each other,” Kuroko continued.  “We were just focused on lining our own pockets, the next big thing to get us noticed.  I didn’t like that.”

“Mmm…”

“So I left to show them what I dreamed of.”

“Do you dream?”

“Ogiwara-kun!”

Ogiwara wheezed when Kuroko jabbed him in the side, raspy laughs following as he doubled over, “T-teasing, teasing!” 

“It wasn’t very funny.”

“Sorry, just,” it took a few minutes for Ogiwara to get himself back together but he was straightened up again, putting up the tools in his tool kit so he could snap it close.  “So why didn’t you call me?”  Back to the topic form before, when Kuroko steadfastly denied all reasons to see Ogiwara to get treated.

“I was scared.”

“Scared?”

Kuroko wasn’t sure of what.

“…is it because of that really stupid thing I told you while crying my eyes out?  Gee, that’s kind of embarrassing.  While the mistake wasn’t really it the words I said at the time were true…Gee, I kind of pushed everything on you.”

Then the next day, the day before Ogiwara left, he had approached Kuroko and said to ignore everything he had said, that next time he would do even better.  Kuroko had smiled at him and nodded, only for a next time to never come. 

“…maybe it’s because you didn’t trust me anymore.”

Kuroko looked over his shoulder with a wide eyed look.  Ogiwara’s smile was anything but warm, in fact it almost seemed bittersweet.  That wasn’t it, that wasn’t it at all!  Kuroko would have welcomed Ogiwara back with welcome arms those days if given the chance!  W-wouldn’t he?  Ogiwara crossed his arms, his laugh morose.  “I mean, I wouldn’t trust me anymore if that happened, either!” he closed his eyes.  “Because…I just did it on a whim, told you lies that you believed…I’m the worst.”

Kuroko stood up from his chair, looking at Ogiwara.  He took in the shaking shoulders, clenched fist and jaw, and the tears on the corners of his eyes.

“God, I’m the worst…”

Kuroko wrapped his arms around Ogiwara, pressing his head against the taller male’s chest.  He heard each sob, each thundering heartbeat, as Ogiwara slowly lost his composure.

“I’m sorry, so sorry…”

“…no, I am.”

 Because Kuroko could have tried to mend it all.

***

With Ogiwara, Kagami noticed, Kuroko had a weird guilt complex.  Because no matter how the red head looked at it, Ogiwara was in the wrong.  Yet, Kuroko insisted that he was the one who should be apologizing.  In the end it all turned into one big clusterfuck of “I’m sorry” and “It’s my fault” and no one made it anywhere.  Troublesome, really, but it wasn’t like Kagami was going to go up to Ogiwara and punch the guy for what he did.  For one, that was six years ago.  For another, Riko would have his ass, and for a third, it was obvious Ogiwara had punished himself enough.  Kagami couldn’t imagine it, six years of self-loathing due to a simple lie.

“What do you think, Iron Heart?” he asked, reclining in the mech’s cockpit. The heat was killer today and he was loathe to move anywhere else.  There was a soft hum of the mech’s engines and Kagami laughed.  “Yeah, that sounds about right!” he stretched, yawning some.  “I could go play some basketball later when it’s cool enough…”

Still didn’t change the fact Kuroko had a weird complex towards Ogiwara.  Whatever, it wasn’t like Kagami was in the thick of it.

“Ah…maybe I should make that egg crepe recipe I found online,” he mumbled. 

Really, all in all it was just another summer day.

 


	5. Mecha AU:  Sleeping in Odd Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After battle, when he's tired, Kagami sleeps inside Iron Heart. Written for Mecha AU

Kagami was drop dead tired, barely even able to move his body after extracting himself from the pointlessly complicated direct movement system Iron Heart had. Hell, he couldn’t even bring himself to walk those short few steps from the cockpit to the catwalk so he could make his way back to his place.  It took too much effort than he was willing to expend and despite his hardworking tendencies Kagami honestly felt like he couldn’t make the walk.  Actually, the mere thought of walking made him sore and he had half a mind to stay in Iron Heart’s cockpit and sleep.  The idea was tempting and he would have done it too if his stomach hadn’t decided to tell him he was absolutely starving.

“Ah, geeze, did I even eat enough this morning before I left?” he mumbled, slumped in an awkward tangle of limbs and cords and wires.  As if Iron Heart heard him there was a soft rumble from the mech.  Kagami laughed, “Yeah, you’re right.  I probably didn’t eat the right things.  Course I haven’t gone shopping in a while so there’s that.”  His stomach growled again and Kagami frowned.  The mess hall was close by, and they usually had decent food.  He moved to get up but his weariness got the best of him and Kagami found himself sitting back down in the cock pit, a little bit frazzled and all kinds of irritated.

“Geeze…”

 

The mission hadn’t taken that long, thinking on it, and it was only about like what?  Two or three?  Yeah, he could afford a nap and by the time he got up it would be time for dinner.  He patted the floor of the cockpit, settling himself in for a nap.  “Sorry, buddy, but you wouldn’t mind me sleeping here until dinner, right?” the warm silence he was answered with said everything for him and Kagami closed his eyes for a nice, long nap.

***

“Furihata-kun, you’re gripping it wrong.”

“Ah, am I?”

Furihata Kouki was a novice mechanic, studying under Tsuchida and Mitobe on how to repair Iron Heart.  Even if he was really clumsy and messed up sometimes, he felt like he was learning a lot.  It still didn’t mean he got used to Kuroko suddenly appearing and telling him tiny things like how his hold on equipment was a bit off or he was calibrating wrong.  At least he wasn’t jumping as high whenever it happened.  “A-anyways, Kuroko, what are you doing here?” he asked, wiping his hands off on the rag he kept tucked away in his pocket.  “Mitobe is out getting parts with Koganei and Tsuchida isn’t here, so I don’t think I’d be much help.”  Really, he had been attempting to work on his pet project some.

“I was looking for Kagami-kun,” Kuroko’s voice was calm as always, even though Furihata sensed a bit of anxiousness in the other’s voice.

“Kagami?  He should have come back earlier when everyone returned.”

“He didn’t.”

“Hmm…”

Furihata frowned.  Kagami wasn’t here when he came in, so he had to have gone somewhere.  Maybe he was shopping?  If that were the case then Kuroko should have run into him on the way to the hangar where they kept Iron Heart.  Maybe…Kaijou territory was set up differently than Seirin’s territory.  “Well, if I see him I’ll—“ Furihata was cut off by a loud snore, the two looking up at Iron Heart.

“…I think I’ve found him,” Kuroko mumbled and made his way up the catwalk to where Iron Heart’s cockpit was.  “Kagami-kun.”

Another snore.

“Kagami-kun.”

Furihata felt a little bit sorry for Kagami.

“Kagami-kun.”

“OUCH!  What did you pinch me for!?”

“I’m hungry.”

Furihata definitely felt more than a bit sorry for Kagami.


End file.
